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"FacebookPinterest\n\nWest coast-based COMUNE has been involved in some pretty cool projects lately, but none as intriguing as their &amp;quot;Artist-in-Residence&amp;quot; program featuring a new Drop City personality each month. The LA boys will house said artist (this month is Noel Sinclair Boyt), in return for their creative contribution: from blogging content to designing limited edition pieces. Clever. We had the opportunity recently to round up the COMUNE team to talk a little jive. Check it out.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nThe GQ Eye: Tell us a little about the brainchild that kick-started the program, and a little about your first artist and how you picked him.\n\n COMUNE: When the lease ended at our Costa Mesa office earlier this year, we were thinking of ways that we could really progress, both as a brand and as a creative group. With a new women\u2019s collection launching, several initiatives in the pipeline, and a constantly evolving men\u2019s line, a move to Los Angeles was the most logical next step for us.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nAs we looked for a new creative space we seemed to be magnetically be pulled to the Arts District near Little Tokyo in Downtown LA--an area reminiscent to San Francisco in a lot of ways; it has a real rawness value to it and we knew it was our new home. We landed on an old canning factory that is separated into two massive buildings, one business and the other residential. We fell in love with it. With such a unique property at our disposal, we knew we wanted something bigger, not in size, but in vision. So we took a tour of the residential side of the building and found an amazing two-level artist loft.\n\n The space itself rendered the idea of bringing like-minded artists together with COMUNE to in a way to optimize the creative dream and give them the complete freedom to express themselves.\n\n In addition to the artist creating his work, it gives him the opportunity to collaborate symbiotically with our in-house team.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\n Our first resident artist is Noel Sinclair Boyt. Noel has been a COMUNE/Drop City contributor since day one. He has had several signature t-shirts with us and he has exhibited his artwork at our shows. He was coincidentally also planning on moving down to LA so the timing worked out perfectly. Noel is such a unique character. He has a hilarious morbid sense of humor that keeps us on our toes. He\u2019s an amazing skateboarder and has a ton of bizarre stories about growing up in Castle Rock, Colorado.\n\nGQ: How do you see this program impacting the direction of the collection? Having these guys/gals around will undoubtedly push you creatively as well...\n\nCOMUNE: The live space and work space are literally in the same building, so the amount of contact that our live-in artist will have with all of us at COMUNE is huge. There\u2019s no way to not feel the influence. At the same time, we want things to happen organically. Inspiration comes in many forms; maybe it\u2019s an old story, colors used in a piece of art, or something from a personal wardrobe... For us, collaboration is inevitable. This project\u2019s purpose is to create the perfect environment for the artist to push the boundaries of their own abilities and those of our brand.\n\nFacebookPinterest\n\nGQ: What are you guys really liking that is out there these days? is COMUNE more about the clothing itself or the lifestyle surrounding what pushed you to create the brand?\n\nGQ: COMUNE is cornered in all things design, and the inventive lifestyle behind these ideas. Our team has a deep love for thoughtful and functional design and our personal projects always seem to trickle down into the creative flow of the brand. From handmade lights and other swap meet finds, to new creative spaces constructed with shipping containers, we\u2019re constantly making an effort to progress and move forward. That idea is the driving force behind COMUNE."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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